phillips49

High Steel Prices: A Preview of Peak Oil

Dear Catweazel,

Your obituary is a wee bit premature. You seriously underestimate us Americans. We whine, moan, groan, and complain in an open, free, public forum. But we'll get'er done son. We'll be the last ones standing and we won't need WMD's.

High Steel Prices: A Preview of Peak Oil

I think there was too much focus on the Club of Rome comment. So here are the points I was trying to make:

1. More people=more demand period. That's not right, left, capitalist, socialist, or liberal. That's just a fact Jack.
2. There are more people competing for the same stuff we need and that is just going to get worse not better. If we see the light at the end of the tunnel, more tunnel will be added.
3. Our transportation and energy system (the one we need to maintain our way of life) is fossil fuel based.
4. We are funding foreigh growth through our oil dollars.
5. We have resources that we can access and it is foolish not to use them.
6. Our national energy policy seems to be everyman for himself.
7. We are going to have to do better than that if we expect our children to have what we have.
8. In the mean time follow the money for your investments!

High Steel Prices: A Preview of Peak Oil

Good article. Many years ago the Club of Rome published a book titled "The Limits to Growth" and the general message was that there is a limited supply of economically available necessary resources. It showed that population was growing exponentially and the demand for resources would grow along with population. After peaking, population would begin to decline as the standard of living declined.
Unfortunately, the USA, which has the most, will be among the first to experience the decline in the standard of living as high energy costs consume a greater portion of income. That will become more apparent the second half of this year. The USA reached peak oil a number of years ago and domestic production has fallen steadily. We are now dependant on foreign nations for a stratgic resource. A world power needs to be in control of it's strategic resources to control it's destiny.
We had a warning in the 70's with the oil embargo. Many of the young people today missed out on that. Too bad. Rationing, price controls, 4 hour gas lines, gas tank siphoning, and guns. We learned nothing. We did nothing. We fiddled while Rome burned all these years. Shame on us.
But we can still yet buy a little time. It will require compromise and ultimately change. Food for fuel will only exasperate the problem. Not only here but for other nations. We have coal, oil and natural gas that we can exploit if we untie our own hands. The time will come when the majority of people won't care about the pristine integrity of Anwar or the snail darter. They will just want affordable fuel and power. The hard choices have to be made now! The politically unpopular decisions have to be made now! In my view, it should be a national priority, a state of emergency if necessary. If we don't........we will be leaving our children the most miserable heritage we can imagine. Dollars channelled into energy will rob food, clothing, housing, health care, social services...all basic necessities.....everyt... to which we have become accustomed. As a nation, we will be at the mercy of other nations. They will exert their political will on us! We have imported our oil and exported our national wealth. There is still a little time and therefore still a little hope for our future generations.